This time of the year I always ask myself the same question: if the days are getting shorter how come they’re also getting hotter? And now it’s that humid, heavy heat, the one that makes you tired just walking; and if you’re doing anything more energetic, like watering the plants, you’re left feeling horribly sticky and exhausted. The plants are just about holding on but it’s not so colourful now, except for all the flowers in pots on the verandah.

Since the last post we have had two more trips away, which makes this year very different for us. In May we popped down south to visit a load of Richard’s friends in the Lisbon area for a reunion: lots of bracing walks along the beach, great meals and Richard was pleased his weekly games of golf paid off and he didn’t let the side down. And yes, Betty came too.

This little creature was spotted by the river, an Iberian pond turtle it seems. A first for us.

And earlier this month we drove to Asturias for a fabulous few days. It’s a beautiful area of Spain: the sea and so many gorgeous, sandy beaches…

…the mountains in the distance (we were in the foothills of the Picos de Europa); the pastures and their cows, sheep and goats; the lush meadows and forests. Not only did we have some great walks, we also saw the marvellous rock paintings in the Tito Bustillo cave which we had booked up weeks in advance as only 15 people can go in at one time (I particularly liked the fact the violet horse was drawn with murex dye, or Tyrian purple, the famous colour extracted from sea snails which was used for the robes worn by Roman emperors. Yep, the most expensive dye in the world was used 17,000 years ago in a cave that had no natural light)…

…stood in dinosaur tracks and visited the dinosaur museum…

…listened to the howling blowholes along the cliff edge, not to mention enjoying the wonderful cuisine and the cider.

Highly recommended. We think Betty enjoyed it too.

Knowing how unpredictable the weather can be we were pleased it was so nice. Unfortunately, back home it was over 30 for most of the days we were away and a few of the pot plants, despite loads of watering before we left, suffered.

The garden has had most of our attention recently. Not just the watering but also the pruning and weeding and strimming and generally either trying to keep things alive or stop things from taking over (look at the plants surrounding the pond in the first photo). More fruit and vegetables are being handed to us from our good neighbours which we really appreciate. I have in turn given them plants, mainly cuttings from the monster margarida, which they both admitted to admiring. These too have been hacked back to a more manageable size (the plants, not the neighbours).

So now a storm is brewing, not metaphorically. It is forecast thunderstorms and two days of rain. Can’t wait.